Safe and Sound
by TheNightFury
Summary: AU OOTP, NO SLASH, Harry is brutaly abused by his uncle, throughout his recovery Harry discovers he's not alone in his pain and finds an unlikely friend Harry/Draco Friendship fic
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**

**So, a big shout out to my friend ****UchihaAmadeus who helped me come up with this idea. **

Harry collapsed onto his bed, exhausted, starving, his whole body aching from his uncles' blows. Harry pulled his knees up against his chest and shut his eyes, hoping he could get some sleep when Hedwig started rattling her cage trying to get Harry's attention.

"I'm sorry Hedwig, I can't let you out," Harry groaned, burying his face into his pillow, not bothering to remove his glasses. Harry heard Petunia shove something under the flap of his door and heard her lock the door. Harry dragged himself out of bed and practically crawled to the door. On the tray Petunia had shoved into Harry's room was a shallow bowl with some cold soup in it. Harry picked up the bowl and started to greedily down its contents but soon stopped himself. Hedwig needed food too. Ignoring his grumbling stomach, Harry dragged himself to Hedwig's cage and poured what was left of the soup into her bowl. Hedwig squawked angrily and Harry sighed,

"I'm sorry Hedwig, but it's all I have…" Hedwig still refused to eat the food though, but Harry was too tired to care. Harry dragged himself back onto the bed, and couldn't help but think of Ron and Hermione. Why hadn't they written? Weren't they worried about him? Did they even care? Unhappy thoughts swirling in his head, Harry finally drifted off. _Just two more weeks…_

Fred watched Ron as he angrily paced the kitchen, worry evident on his face, they were all worried though. Ron had been trying to reach Harry all summer with no success. Harry never wrote back and his uncle never let Harry talk on the phone. Ron angrily flung himself onto one of the chairs, huffing in annoyance. Hermione placed a tentative hand on Ron's shoulder who tensed slightly at the touch before relaxing again.

"We're all worried about him," Hermione whispered.

"Why won't they do anything?" Ron snapped, "They put _bars_ on his windows Hermione… who knows what else they'll do to him." Hermione looked like she was going to start crying and Ginny halfheartedly glared at Ron, even Ginny was too worried to stay mad for very long. The 'children' where forced to wait while the Order met to discuss if they should consider going to see if Harry was ok. Their parents and Sirius all wanted to go right away, but the other members where much more hesitant. They had contacted Dumbledore who would be there as soon as he could, but Fred feared that what was happening at number four, he'd seen himself how badly the Dursley's treated Harry, who knows what they were doing to him, or if they would be too late.

"Well… maybe someone's taking our letters…" Hermione hesitantly suggested.

"Why? And who?" Ron snapped.

"Well Dobby managed too…" Hermione whispered, but Ron wasn't listening to her anymore.

"We can't just sit here and do nothing!" Ginny snapped after several minutes of tense silence.

"What can we do? It's not like we have a flying car that we can use!" Ron snapped. Ginny hung her head and Ron put his head in his hands.

"You guys can't do anything…" Fred began.

"But maybe we can," George finished, already knowing what Fred was thinking.

"What are you two thinking?" Hermione asked, looking at them suspiciously.

"Rescue mission."

Harry's restless sleep was interrupted by the sound of the door being unlocked. _No… not again… please not again…_ but Harry's pleas feel on silent ears. His uncle beat him mercilessly, ripping open old wounds, tearing him apart, but through it all Harry remained silent, it only hurt more if he screamed. Hedwig though squealed angrily and rattled her cage, but Vernon didn't pay any attention to her. Time seemed to stop for Harry as his thin frame was pounded to a pulp. When it was over Vernon left Harry lying on the floor, bleeding, in pain.

Harry wasn't sure how long he lay there, but eventually Hedwig fell silent and he heard what sounded like the bars on his window being removed, but how could that be? Vernon would never… He heard the window squeaking in protest as the unused hinges slowly opened.

"Harry?" Someone asked someone who was familiar… a friend. Harry tried to place to voice but it was too much work for his exhausted mind. Harry pried his eyes open and saw a blurry figure standing over him. The figure had blazing red hair and what looked like freckles all over their face. Harry tried to focus on the face, whoever it was seemed so familiar, but everything was too blurred. That's when Harry finally realized his glasses where gone.

"Harry can you hear me?" The voice asked again, and Harry realized it was a man. Another identical face appeared and suddenly it clicked.

"Fred…. George…?" Harry croaked. Fred, or was it George? Looked only slightly relived when Harry finally responded.

"We're going to get you out of here Harry." One of the twins promised, both tensed when they heard the locks being undone and ducked into the corner just as it opened to reveal Dudley. Harry tried to ask him what he was doing, but his mouth wasn't cooperating anymore. Dudley looked down at Harry for a moment, looking almost… upset. But why would he care what happened to Harry?

Fred silently glared at Dudley from his hiding place, was he here to beat Harry up some more? But, surprisingly Dudley looked down at Harry and looked almost upset. After a minute Dudley went over to Hedwig but before he could get their the twins whipped out their wands and growled,

"What are you doing?" Dudley jumped and dropped whatever he'd been holding. George snatched it up before Dudley could.

"A letter?" George asked opening it skeptically. As he read through the letter, his hard face slowly melted and turned into a look of utter surprise.

"You where… trying to get help?" Dudley nodded frantically and Fred snapped,

"Why? You _hate_ Harry."

"What my parents' are doing is wrong," Dudley replied looking utterly terrified, "I may not like him… but I can't just them kill him." Fred studied Dudley for several tense minutes before whispering,

"We're here to get Harry out, when your parents wake up tomorrow act like you don't know anything, do you understand?" Dudley nodded his head frantically and George snapped,

"Now get out!" Dudley scrambled to his feet and ran out the door and Fred immediately knelt down next to Harry.

"We got to get him help _now_," Fred whispered, looking sick as he realized just how much blood covered the floor. As gently as he could, Fred lifted Harry to his feet, George going to Harry's other side to help support him, now missing how harry flinched and tensed at their touch.

"Now for the hard part…" Fred muttered darkly. He prayed that this would hurt Harry, but they had no other choice.

"Ready George?" Fred asked.

"Ready Fred," George replied. The three turned on the spot and with a loud crack, vanished into thin air leaving the cold unforgiving room behind them.

**End Notes**

**Honestly I have no idea how much detail I'll go into Harry's torture or how bad it will be, but I can guarantee it will stay at T. Let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**

**Sorry for the wait guys! So there will be another one or two chapters and then they'll be off to Hogwarts! Warning, kind of OCCness, but after all that Harry's been through, I figured he, and Sirius, could get emotional. Anyways, enjoy.**

Fred stumbled slightly when they appeared at Grimmauld Place, but managed to catch himself before he toppled to the ground.

"Will Harry be able to get in…?" Fred whispered, looking worried.

"I…don't know," George admitted. Fred sighed and focused with all his might number twelve

Grimmauld place. Slowly, number twelve slid out from between eleven and thirteen. Sighing in relief, George stepped away saying,

"I should get Harry's stuff."

"Be careful," Fred whispered. George nodded and with a crack was gone. Worried by how light Harry was, Fred started to half carry half drag Harry towards number twelve. Fred pushed the door open and, ignoring the screaming painting shouted,

"_Mom dad! Get down here!_" Instantly Ron, Hermione, and Ginny ran into the hallway and the portrait started screaming,

"Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks-"

"Shut up!" Sirius shouted yanking the curtain shut with Lupin's help.

"Fred you know to be… Harry?" Mrs. Weasley gasped. Sirius instantly turned to Fred and shoved Mrs. Weasley out of the way to get to his godson. Sirius snatched Harry from Fred and stared at him in horror.

"Who did this…?" Sirius whispered looking up at Fred, "_Who did this?_" the portrait started screeching again but no one paid attention to her. Sirius looked about ready to murder someone, or someone's. Fred opened his mouth to answer when his mother demanded,

"Where's George?" Fred once again tried to answer her when George burst in, arms laden with Harry's things.

"What did you do?" Mrs. Weasley gasped.

"We saved Harry's life!" Fred exclaimed.

"We need to help Harry!" Sirius shouted over the paintings wailing. Mrs. Weasley nodded in agreement and Sirius carried Harry off, followed by Lupin and Mrs. Weasley. Mr. Weasley reluctantly stayed behind and turned to Fred and George.

"The Dursley's did this… didn't they?" Mr. Weasley asked. Fred and George nodded, but Fred added quickly,

"But um Harry's cousin umm…"

"Dudley?" Ron offered.

"Yea, him, he was trying to help Harry," George finished. Mr. Weasley's eyes flashed dangerously and he nodded his head stiffly and mumbled,

"I need to contact Dumbledore… let him know what's happened…" Mr. Weasley left, leaving them to listen to Mrs. Black's wailing.

Harry wasn't sure where he was or what was happening to him, all he was sure about was the pain. He vaguely remembered seeing the twins, but was that a dream or did it really happen? Dudley had come in, did he beat harry up or did he actually kill him? But how could he be dead if he was in so much pain? Harry felt something touch his hand and tried to pull away from it, terrified it was his uncle.

"Harry?" A voice asked touching his hand again. Once again he was sure he knew whoever was talking to him. Slowly, Harry pried his eyes open, only to snap them shut when he was blinded by the light. Harry cautiously opened them again and found himself surrounded by red. Harry blinked a few times before he felt someone pressing something on his nose and his vision cleared. He was surrounded by the Weasley's and was in a room he'd never seen before.

"Harry you're awake!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, joy written all across her face.

"Welcome to the land of the living mate," Fred added, grinning.

"Good to see you," Ron added. Harry was feeling more and more uncomfortable as the Weasley's took turns hugging him and greeting him. _They know… they think you're a wimp…_

"Can't I see my own godson?" A voice asked teasingly. Instantly the Weasley's backed away from the bed revealing his godfather.

"Sirius?" Harry asked, a huge grin forming. Sirius grinned and walked over to Harry wrapping him in a warm embrace.

"It's good to see you Harry," Sirius greeted warmly.

"I can't believe you're here… wherever here is…" Harry replied looking around the room in confusion, "where is here?" Sirius burst out laughing and replied,

"We're at number twelve Grimmauld Place, headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix but properly known as the Black manor."

"You lived here?" Harry asked blankly.

"And since I'm the last Black it's mine," Sirius confirmed.

"And what is the um Order?" Harry asked feeling stupider by the minute.

"The Order of the Phoenix is a secret society Dumbledore founded to fight You-Know-Who in the last war," Sirius explained. Harry wanted to ask more, but his stomach rumbled loudly and Mrs. Weasley declared,

"I'll get you some lunch Harry," and ran off. Harry slowly sat up, pain flaring in his stomach as he did so, his arms trembling. Sirius grabbed Harry's arm and helped him get comfortable saying,

"Molly did the best she could but unfortunately she's no healer…" Sirius explained.

"What?" Harry asked, his mind struggling to keep up with all the information being thrown at him.

"Fred and George rescued you from the Dursley's!" Ron exclaimed. So he'd really seen the twins earlier.

"So… Do I… I mean will Dumbledore… Will I have to go back to the Dursley's?" Harry asked.

"No!" Everyone shouted at once, startling Harry.

"What they mean is," Sirius explained, "no, Dumbledore will not allow you to go back there." Harry wanted to remind him that Dumbledore was the one who put him there in the first place, but he didn't have the heart to, not right then anyway. The Weasley's looked so relieved to see him awake and Mrs. Weasley had returned with a platter filled with sandwiches that looked amazing. So, Harry grabbed one of the sandwiches and stuffed it in his mouth. The sandwich was probably one of the best one's he'd ever eaten. A tense silence filled the room as Harry crammed sandwiches into his mouth. Once Harry had his fill Sirius asked,

"Can Harry and I have a moment? I want to ask him a few questions."

"Sirius…" Mrs. Weasley warned.

"I'll only be a minute Molly," Sirius assured. Mrs. Weasley eyed Sirius critically before walking out followed by the other Weasley children. Once they were alone Sirius turned somber and eyed Harry carefully for a minute before sighing,

"The Dursley's… they did this didn't they?" Harry opened his mouth to reply but found he couldn't. Shame, that's all he saw in Sirius's eyes. He knows, he knows everything they did and he's ashamed… "Was it?" Sirius demanded. Trembling harry nodded his head and croaked,

"Not… Dudley…"

"What?" Sirius asked, obviously struggling to control his anger.

"He didn't do anything," Harry whispered, "It was my uncle…" Sirius looked enraged and Harry begged, "Just don't hurt him please!"

"Harry they hurt you!" Sirius exclaimed, "How can I _not_ do anything about it?"

"What if you get caught?" Harry asked, "You'll get arrested and I'll never see you and… I couldn't live with myself if that happened." Harry didn't know what he'd do if something happened to Sirius… Sirius looked at Harry, pain evident in his eyes.

"Harry, if Fred and George hadn't come when they did… you would have _died_. They almost killed you Harry…"tears started spilling out of Sirius's eyes surprising Harry, "I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if you died while with those _muggles_." Sirius spat the name out like it was some poison and Harry felt a twinge of guilt, "I was supposed to protect you… and I failed."

"It's not your fault…" Harry assured, throat painfully tight. Harry once again found himself in Sirius's tight embrace and forced himself to keep his emotions under control. Harry didn't want to ever think of his horrible relatives and the horrible things he did to him. Pushing away those painfully vivid memories Harry begged, "Just… promise me that I'll never have to go back…"

"I swear Harry, you'll never have to see those monsters' faces again," Sirius promised, and Harry believed him.

**End Notes**

**Let me know what you thought!**


	3. Chapter 3

Sirius tried to get more information about what Vernon had done to Harry, but Harry couldn't, the memories where still to fresh, and he didn't want to face the disgust on Sirius's face… Harry forced himself not to think about those things. There was a tentative knock at the door and Dumbledore slipped inside.

"May I have a word with Harry?" The headmaster asked, looking guilt ridden. Sirius glared at Dumbledore for a minute before standing up and loudly declared,

"I'll be right outside if you need me Harry." Harry nodded and eyed Dumbledore wearily. Sirius glared at Dumbledore as he past, clearly not pleased with the headmaster. Harry watched as Dumbledore sat down in Sirius's seat, looking completely dejected. _He's going to punish me… what did I do? I just got here!_

"I owe you an apology Harry," Dumbledore whispered, "I wrongly assumed your relatives would treat you with some kindness and almost got you killed because of my ignorance. For that I am sorry."

"It's not your fault," Harry assured.

"No, it is," Dumbledore corrected, "before Voldemorts return I watched you carefully to make sure there was no abuse happening but with Voldemorts rise last year I hadn't been watching as closely… I assumed you wouldn't be harmed. Can you forgive an old man's mistakes?"

"I don't blame you," Harry assured. _I deserved this… _

"I promise you Harry, the Dursley's will pay for what they did…" Dumbledore began, but Harry quickly stopped him,

"No!"

"What?" Dumbledore asked, surprised.

"Please don't hurt Dudley, he tried to help me," Harry begged. Not sure why he was suddenly so worried about Dudley, but he had started so there was no point in stopping.

"Did he ever harm you?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, it was only my uncle," Harry assured. Dumbledore nodded, staring at Harry, as if he was looking into Harry's mind. Harry shifted uncomfortably under the headmasters gaze, painful memories fighting their way into Harry's mind. Harry shook his head and Dumbledore stood and assured him,

"I'm sure Sirius made this clear to you earlier, but let me say it again, you are _not_ going back to the Dursley's."

"Where will I stay then?" Harry asked.

"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley have offered to let you live with them."

"They did?" Harry asked, amazed. They really wanted him? Even though he was a freak?

"They've been trying to for a while actually," Dumbledore admitted.

"For how long?" Harry asked, throat constricting.

"Ever since the second year," Dumbledore replied, "when they found out you lived in a room with bars on the windows."

"That long?" Harry whispered weakly.

"We all care about you Harry," Dumbledore confirmed, "don't ever forget that." Harry nodded his head stiffly and Dumbledore left. Harry let out a shaky breath _he didn't hurt me… _Sirius didn't come back in after Dumbledore left, instead the twins, Ron, and Ginny came back in.

"What did the gi-… headmaster… want?" Ron asked, stopping in mid-sentence when Ginny glared at him.

"He just was asking some questions… Harry mumbled, unable to shake the feeling Ginny was glaring at _him_, "it's no big deal…"

"Yes it is!" Ron snapped, making Harry wince slightly. Ron looked guilty as he continued, "he should have known what was going on but he wasn't paying attention and look what happened!"

"It's fine…" Harry assured, desperately trying to calm Ron down before he started swinging.

"No it's not!" Ron exclaimed, "You were almost _killed_! Don't you get that?"

"I think I know that better then you" Harry snapped, his anger at everything momentarily shining through before he clamped his mouth shut. _Now you've done it_. Harry froze, expecting a punch or some kind of punishment for lashing out like that, but all he got was an extremely guilty looking Ron and three pairs of eyes glaring right at Ron.

"I think what my idiot brother is trying to say," Ginny finally began after several tense minutes, "is that no one would blame you for being angry at Dumbledore, he was supposed to make sure nothing like this happened to you."

"Look, it's over and done with. I just want to put it behind me," Harry informed them, wishing they'd just leave him so he could be alone, nothing bad happened when he was alone; "I'm tired I just want to get some sleep." Ron, looking thoroughly dejected, shuffled out of the room, followed by a worried Ginny. Fred and George though, stubbornly remained in the room.

"We are your friends Harry," Fred said, his usual light and joking tone gone.

"We want to help," George added.

"So don't hesitate to ask us, any of us, if you need anything or just want to talk," Fred finished.

"I'll remember that," Harry promised, knowing that was the only thing that would get them to leave him alone. Fred and George looked like they didn't believe Harry, but thankfully didn't say anything and left him. Harry laid down to try and get a little sleep, but every time he shut his eyes, Harry saw his uncle Vernon standing over him, a sick smile on his face. Harry eventually drifted off and found himself trapped inside the cupboard, his sick uncle standing over him laughing as Harry screamed.

_"You deserve this boy…_" Harry's eyes flung open, his whole body violently trembling. Harry sat up, frantically looking around the room; it was dark, so dark. His uncle was in there with him, he was going to punish him! Harry was frantically scrambling to find his wand to defend himself, but couldn't find it. Harry stumbled to his feet and scrambled to get out of the room, to get away from his uncle. As Harry frantically felt along the wall he felt a light switch and flipped it on.

Harry looked around the room, his heartbeat still frantic, and realized he was alone in the room. Harry shut his eyes and leaned against the wall tears slipping down his face. Would he ever escape the nightmare? A dark voice whispered, _you deserve this punishment. You're a freak, a monster._ Harry jumped when there was a soft hooting and saw Hedwig sitting on the table; looking cleaner and healthier then she'd been in weeks. Harry smiled at the site of the snowy owl and walked over to her, petting her. Hedwig nibbled his finger affectionately and Harry saw down on the bed, grateful to have Hedwig near. She'd been there through it all; she was the only one who could understand.

"Am I really a monster?" Harry asked brokenly. Hedwig stared at Harry with wide amber eyes, almost looking disbelieving, "maybe they're right, I only cause trouble." Hedwig hooted almost scolding just as there was a soft knocking at the door. Ron poked his head in asking,

"Harry? Mom sent me up to say dinners ready and wanted to see if you wanted to come down or if you weren't feeling well enough." Ron looked so hopeful Harry found himself saying,

"I'll be done in a minute." A huge grin erupted on Ron's face and he continued,

"Mom will be really glad to hear that! It'll give her a chance to fatten you up." Harry's lips twitched slightly could his uncle have been wrong? Do they really care?

**End Notes**

**If I have any readers out their, let me know. Reviews put me in a writting mood.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry about the delay… and shortness, but I just haven't had time to write this. Next chapter should be longer! Thanks for the reviews guys, they really made my day. Enjoy**

Draco tugged on the collar of his shirt to cover his neck, unable to shake the feeling that someone was staring at him. Draco looked over at his father who was staring blankly ahead at the wall between platforms nine and ten. Taking a deep breath, Draco charged at the wall and passed through to platform nine and three quarters. Lucius appeared next to Draco and lifelessly said,

"Make me proud." Draco felt nauseous a he remembered the conversation from the night before.

"I will," Draco assured before heading over to the train. Draco angrily dragged his bags onto the train. As Draco made his way down the train looking for an empty compartment, he froze in front of one of the compartments. Potter and his friends where all inside, but the strange thing was they weren't joking or laughing like they usually where. Harry was tucked in the corner, asleep as Ron and Hermione talked to each other, occasionally looking over at Harry worriedly.

"Is there something you need Malfoy?" Draco turned and met the Weasley twins face to face. Draco scowled at them and retorted,

"Not from a Weasley." Just as Ron and Hermione stepped outside. Ron glared at Draco and snapped,

"What do you want?"

"What? I can't walk through the train anymore without everyone questioning me?" Draco snapped. Silently wondering why they suddenly cared why he was walking in front of the car Potter was in. Draco looked in the compartment again, eyes widening when he noticed something he'd missed at first. Harry's head was leaning against the window frame, revealing his neck and a hand shaped bruise on his neck. _What happened to him_…?

"Just leave Harry alone," Ron snapped stepping in front of Draco, blocking Harry from his site.

"Whatever, I have somewhere important to be, unlike _some_ people," Draco sneered. Draco had been made prefect, he doubted any of them where made prefect. Draco stepped around them and continued on his way. As much as Draco tried to distract himself with thoughts of how much better he was, he couldn't help but think about the bruise he'd seen, he couldn't help but wonder what had caused it, what had gone wrong in Potters perfect life?

_Maybe…_ _no_ Draco told himself firmly _we have nothing in common_.

Draco was stunned when he discovered that Ron and Hermione had both been made prefect, and couldn't help but wonder, why Ron? Why had Dumbledore not chosen Harry, he was Dumbledore's favorite after all. Draco grinned to himself, maybe he'd go ask himself. Draco rounded up Crabbe and Goyle before heading over to the car Harry was in. As Malfoy pushed the door open Ron looked up and glared at him snapping,

"What do you want?" Ignoring Ron Draco asked,

"So Potter how does it feel to be second best to Weasley?" Harry remained oddly silent, with Ron answering with,

"He's ten times better then you are Malfoy!"

"Cat got your tongue Potter?" Malfoy asked trying to get some sort of response from Harry.

"He'll answer if and when he wants to," Hermione snapped, "not when you order him to." Draco stared at Harry who stubbornly was looking at the floor.

"Looks like someone's finally learned their place," Draco mocked, sure he'd finally get Harry to say something, but once again he was disappointed.

"_You're_ the one who needs to learn his place Malfoy, not Harry," Ron growled, "Now get out!"

"Just beware Potter, because from now on I'll be dogging your steps," Draco warned. Harry's eyes widened momentarily when he finally looked up at Draco with hollow, lifeless eyes, but other than that gave no response to Draco.

"Out!" Hermione screeched, looking ready to throw the book in her hands at him. Draco sent one last smirk at them before slipping outside, feeling slightly unnerved. What was wrong with Harry? Why was he acting so dead? Draco then remembered the bruise he saw on Harry, where they somehow connected? Draco shook his head trying to shake the thought out of his mind, why did he care about what went on in _Potters_ life? As much as Draco tried to deny it, he did care. Draco was all too familiar with abuse and if those bruises where anything to go by Harry was being abused. It didn't make any sense though, why would Harrys relatives hurt 'the boy who lived' wasn't he special or something wasn't his stupid life perfect? _Apparently not _a treacherous voice whispered _Harry's life is far from perfect_. Draco firmly told himself he probably just imagined the bruises and that it was nothing to worry about.

They were pulling up to the school by that point, so Draco shoved those thoughts out of his mind and pulled out his robes. Draco silently got off of the train, not caring if Crabbe and Goyle followed him or not, Draco had no idea why he hung out with them, he didn't even like them really, he just did. _See, Potter has real friends, he's _nothing _like you_ Draco thought to himself bitterly. Draco groaned and wondered _what's wrong with me?_


End file.
